CR in Mt Hood with PBP

Apr 22 2009

Day 1:
I am up in Oregon shooting for, "Everyday Is A Saturday," the new Poor Boyz Productions film coming out next fall. I arrived at Mt. Hood yesterday and came out to the mountain today to check out and help build the jump that we are going to be hitting for the next few days.

We are shooting at a small "Mom & Pop" mountain at the base of Mt. Hood, called Skibowl. I was surprised when we showed up at the size of the feature that is being pushed together. It looks like at perfect, low impact table. We are talking about taking out the center of the table and making it an 80 foot wall-to-wall gap with a ten foot deck on the landing.

For today, we only have the means to get the general shape of the table going and to start shaping the take off. The vibe is so perfect; we have a killer crew of athletes, the weather is beautiful, and the feature is coming together perfectly. I am so stoked to up here in Hood and to be filming with Poor Boyz again, this crew is so fun to ski with and things are feeling right.

Day 2:
We came back to Skibowl today and the take off of our jump is looking perfect. The landing had been pushed up a bit more and things are in place for a good session to start things off. We let them finish grooming the landing, and started getting a feel for the speed. Being a level table almost makes it a step-over jump, and the speed we are having to take is super fast. We figured out the speed and started the session off.

It started with some 3s. Then I stepped over my comfort level and brought out the 720. This is the third table I have thrown a 720 over in four years. The first was a mellow jump up in Whistler, and the second table was a 20 footer at Sugar Bowl, four days ago. In my mind I know this is the session to bring out the tricks I have been thinking about for years now.

I threw a few 7s and got a good feel for them. I still have strong ambition to keep stepping out of my comfort zone and get into some bigger tricks. I have a few days of hitting this feature so I am going to take my time and build up to the climax of the session to bring things out.

Day 3:
We came back for the sunset session today. Yesterday we arrived right as the sun was leaving the jump but two hours before the sunset. Today we showed up at 3:30 so that we could hit the jump in the sun for a while and just be finishing up as the sun is setting.
The jump is finished today and looking SICK! We have the idea of the speed from yesterday and so got is started right away. The jump has melted out a bit from yesterday and so the speed is a little slower. It is still fast though, and the air is looking big. The weather is beautiful and it is time for an other sick session.
I got right into it today with one 360 for a speed test and then right into the 720. I try and step to my highest level from the day before right off the bat so that I can take it from where I was and move forward from there. After my second 720, although I am not entirely comfortable, I know it is time I have to get the Bio 900 going. That is my 'bread and butter' trick so I know I am going to have it. I went for the 900 and it came to me naturally. My body has done that trick so many times it is right in my head to do it again. I came to my feet and got the first one out of my system.
Once the first of anything is out of the way, the second one seems mellow. I continued to get more and more comfortable with the trick, and they started to slow down in my mind. The first attempt seemed like a fraciton of a second to me. Then I start to slow things down in the middle of the trick and all of the sudden I am floating and have all kinds of time to do what I want.
This is a big step for me getting back into my comfort zone. I stepped into the biggest tricks I have thrown in four years today and they were over the biggest jump I have hit in that same amount of time. I keep chipping away at getting my tricks going again, and they keep coming. It is a long road of re-learning these tricks again, but I am having so much fun and keep moving forward so I am thankful of the road I get to walk.
The photo of the skier jumping is of John Spriggs... killing it!

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